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Tdworld 14361 Digunderground
Tdworld 14361 Digunderground
Tdworld 14361 Digunderground
Tdworld 14361 Digunderground
Tdworld 14361 Digunderground

Arizona Utilities Warn Customers About Dangers of Digging into Underground Lines

Aug. 14, 2018
Arizona Public Service, Southwest Gas and SRP joined forces to educate the local community on national 811 Day on Aug. 11.

Every nine minutes, Americans put themselves at risk for serious injuries and cause damage to utility infrastructure by digging underground without having underground utility lines properly marked.  While underground power lines may be well insulated, they can easily be damaged by a shovel or a pick and create a shock or flash hazard. In turn, it can cause a power outage to local customers and possibly injure the person who is digging. 

To warn the public about the dangers of digging into a utility line, Arizona Public Service, Southwest Gas and SRP joined forces to educate the local community on national 811 Day on Aug. 11. Across the state of Arizona, shared utility services such as natural gas, electricity, communications and water lines, run underground. Homeowners, however, may not realize that these services may be buried a few inches below ground when working in the yard.  

Looking for Warning Signs
To safeguard themselves during do-it-yourself projects, homeowners can call Arizona 811, which will send utility companies out to the planned dig site to locate and mark the underground lines, pipes and cables. Also, homeowners can spot a natural gas leak by looking for warning signs like a sulfur-like, rotten-egg odor, unusual hissing or roaring from the ground, bubbling water and discolored plants or grass surrounding a pipeline. 

Learning the Color Codes
For their public awareness campaign, the three utilities also educated the local community about the uniform color codes of temporary marking of underground utilities:

  • RED – electric power lines, cables, conduit and lighting cables
  • ORANGE – telecommunication, alarm or signal lines, cables or conduit
  • YELLOW – natural gas, oil, steam, petroleum or other gaseous or flammable material
  • GREEN – sewers and drain lines
  • BLUE – drinking water, irrigation and slurry lines
  • PURPLE – reclaimed water
  • PINK – temporary survey markings, unknown/unidentified facilities
  • WHITE – proposed excavation limits or routes

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